Islamicworld

(Moscow- AlummahWorld-Dhu-AlHijjah 8, 1436, September 22, 2015) Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will join opening ceremony of Moscow Central Masjid on September 23. The Masjid also called Moscow Jum'ah Mosque - was demolished four years ago in 2011 and has been rebuilt to house 10,000 worshippers.

Russian News Agency TASS quoted president`s Putin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying that the president Erdogan will come to Moscow, and during the visit he will participate in opening of a mosque in Moscow due September 23, and will have a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, adding he was unaware if the Russian president would participate in opening of the mosque. Earlier, there were reports that the president Putin will also participate at the opening ceremony of Moscow Central Masjid.

The mosque in Moscow was built back in 1904. It is the biggest mosque in Europe. A large reconstruction of the mosque began in May, 2005. Head of the Council of Russian Muftis Ravil Gainutdin told reporters that two more mosques will be built in Moscow, where one of them will be twice bigger than the reconstructed old mosque, and it will host up to 20,000 at a time. He told reporters that the new building would have six levels, and the area would be by 20 times more than the old mosque had - up to 19,000 square meters. Now, the mosque will be able to host 10,000 people at a time.

According to a deputy head of Russian Mufti Council Mufti Rushan Abbyasov more than 8,000 mosques and madrasa Islamic schools have been built in Russia over the past 20 years.

"Russia had over 15,000 mosques, madrasas and prayer spaces before 1917 [Bolshevik Revolution]. In 1991, only 100 were left," he said. The Russian Mufti Council says some 20 million Muslims live within Russia's 146 million population and there are around 8000 mosques, madrasas and places of salat.